Spike Jonzes’ cinematic version of the popular book, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, walks a fine line but holds a tightrope walker’s focus throughout.

Where The Wild Things Are (besides Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax) was my favorite book growing up.

Max, like myself as a youngster (and millions of kids the world over) uses his imagination to lift himself far away from his struggles.

Young Max is played by Max Records (The Brothers Bloom) and assumes the role with great depth and vulnerability. Each expression on his face perfectly depicts the confusion, disappointment, jubilation, or whathaveyou, of a kid trying to find his place in the world, beit reality or amongst the creatures of his imagination.

For those that know and love the book (as I, a child of the late 70s did), Where The Wild Things Are (the cinematic version) produces its own, leisurely paced addaptation of the 300-some-word children’s classic. Jonze and Eggers give, in cinematic terms, exactly what Sendak was able to do in words and illustrations… and although the film may feel too “drawn out” for a full-length feature film (and you may be right), the situations, all from the point-of-view of 9-year old Max allows you to relive, (for me, drawing from my own childhood) and relate to the child within.

I like funny movies about 30-something couples, partly because I’m 30-something, and partly because I’m finding it hard to relate to anything else.

After a jaw-dropping revelation of what America finds “entertaining & hilarious” (see The Hangover), I felt what most suicidal people might describe as “the great sadness.”

As I picked myself off the floor and the pulled the 9mm revolver from between my teeth, a sense of hope came when I saw that Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) directed an independent film with our much-loved, “Jim Halpert” (from The Office) and Saterday Night Live vertern, Maya Rudolph.

BEAR BONES

Romantic and charismatic Burt Farlander (John Krasinski) and pessimistic, nuptially-reluctant and 6-months-pregnant Verona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph) are a loving couple. While visiting Burt’s parents (played by Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels), Burt and Verona discover that they’ve made other plans. Realizing that there isn’t much to stay around for, they embark on a road trip to visit family and old friends in a quest to find the place they will call “Home.”

Seeing this movie makes me realize, “Hey. I like movies about nice people.”

Burt and Verona are intelligent, corky and “nice” people and I will say here – their relationship and chemistry binds this movie together (like so much maple syrup). Their odyssey takes them to places like Phoenix and Montreal where they meet old acquaintances and family, and on each meeting discover just what they don’t want to become as lovers and as parents.

The physical and charming style of Krasinski compliments the expressive and uniquely-beautiful* Rudolph superbly. Their characters, Burt and Verona, give us movie-goes a glimpse at the life of a real couple. Some people may argue that when they rent a movie they want to be swept away by the unreal. To this, there is always a time and place. The best stories… the ones that truly make an impact come not from the Hollywood standard, but from the creation of “real” people.

For one, there is this “real” scene in which Burt and Verona are lying in bed:

[Verona] Burt, are we F#$@-ups?. [Burt] No! What do you mean? [V] I mean, we’re 34… [B] I’m 33. [V] …and we don’t even have the basic stuff figured out. [B] Basic, like how? [V] Basic, like how to live. [B] We’re not f&$%-ups. [V] We have a cardboard window. [B] (looks at window) We’re not f@#%-ups. [V] (whispers) I think we might be f#$%-ups.

Lots of couples wonder this. Lots of couples talk about this. Their life feels flat… that they don’t match up to everyone else and/or their life doesn’t match up to everyone elses.

Watching a film like Away We Go makes me feel a great and powerful connection to Burt and Verona, not just because I feel like “we’re in the same boat” but because the alternative of where we think we are is seldom where we’d like to be [and that is something I’ve always felt strongly about]. Especially if we knew what we’d become or have to give up in order to get it.